A numerical study of the wake behind a blunt‐trailing‐edged body. Part 2: the topology of the flow

This project focuses on the wake behind a two‐dimensional blunt‐trailing‐edged body. The body has an elliptical nose followed by a straight section that ends in a blunt base. For this geometry, the boundary layer separation points are defined and fixed. This permits a better assessment of the vital influence of the boundary layers upon the wake. It is hoped that the study of this special geometry will contribute to a better understanding of the wake flow. The main aim of this article is to study the topology of the wake by means of direct numerical simulation (DNS). The idea is to mimic some experimental work techniques. In an experiment, by means of proper synchronization, one is able to arrive at the mean‐in‐the‐phase fields. In the present work, similar data are obtained through the use of numerical tools. The topology of the wake flow in terms of the movement of the coherent structures, fields of Reynolds stresses, position of saddles and centers, is obtained for certain values of the body's aspect ratio. A comparison with the circular cylinder experimental data is also provided. An important result is the finding of some specific stress distributions around the main structures. The stress level lines are a hint of where the energy transfer of the mean flow to the turbulence is more intense. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.